São Paulo Flight Operations

Congonhas Airport (SBSP) in São Paulo, Brazil, the second busiest airport in the country, will start receiving international business aviation flights again. The objective is to make the internationalization of Congonhas permanent for executive flights, which has not happened for ten years.

A pilot experiment will be conducted by Infraero, the Brazillian government corporation responsible for operating major airports within the country. The experiment will take place between March 9th and 18th, just before the opening and shortly after the closing of the World Economic Forum, whose Latin American version will be hosted in the city of São Paulo from March 13th-15th. These operations will be restricted exclusively to jets of entrepreneurs. The Revenue and Federal Police have already agreed to set up their immigration and customs inspection posts for the specified term, according to Infraero.

"Today a foreign businessman who comes to a business meeting in São Paulo can only land in Guarulhos or Viracopos," said the president of the state company, Antônio Claret. According to him, there is no plan to extend the arrival or departure of international flights to commercial aviation, but we need to take better advantage of the vocation of Congonhas, which has "probably the most expensive square meter" in Brazil, he notes. As a result, Infraero has just cleared almost 7,000 square meters on the second floor of the central hall, which is above the entrance to the boarding rooms. All employees who do not take direct care of the airport operations will be reallocated because it is a valuable space that can be used for bars, snack bars or shared offices.

Congonhas generates a profit of $280-$300 million for Infraero (the exact amount is not disclosed) and represents the largest surplus of its network. The government had included the airport on the list of concessions for 2018 but backed down. "It would be a total disaster for the future of the company," says Claret. According to him, other initiatives to increase profitability are planned, such as parking information in the coming months.

Key Details Summary

Congonhas Airport (SBSP), the second busiest airport in Brazil, will allow international business aviation flights again. A pilot experiment will be conducted by Infraero (Airport Administrator) from March 9th - 18th, for the World Economic Forum, whose Latin American version will be hosted by the city of São Paulo.

SBSP is located in the downtown area of São Paulo.

Operations will be restricted to general aviation.

After the experiment, the objective is to make the internationalization of Congonhas permanent for executive flights, which has not happened for ten years.

It is not planned to extend international flights to commercial aviation.